


To Be Loved

by MoonRock_93



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Battle, F/M, Healing, Love Confessions, Video & Computer Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonRock_93/pseuds/MoonRock_93
Summary: While staring over the ruins of Meridian, Erend has a confession to make to Aloy.
Relationships: Aloy & Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Aloy/Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 68





	To Be Loved

Aloy was staring out at the sunset from one of the palace balconies, the wind softly moving her hair behind her shoulder. The sun was setting to the west. Out there, far away, was where she was: Elisabet. Her mother. Or, as close to a mother that she would ever have. 

She looked closer to the palace and smoke still gently rose from what used to be the village. It pained her, the loss that had come with the battle, but she tried to remind herself that everything would have turned to dust if they had not won. This city could be rebuilt; all of life could not be. Not a second time.

She was still deep in thought and did not notice him silently join her until she heard his subtle breathing. With a small smile she waited to see if he would speak. 

'Rescued another one today,' Erend spoke, more earnestly than she had heard before. 'Young man, stuck under part of the wall. Survived two days under there.'

She smiled again and turned to him now. Poor man looked exhausted, and she probably looked just as bad. He was free of his armor but the striped shirt underneath was so dirty that almost no pattern could be seen. His normally clean shaven face between the mutton chops showed the stubble of several days. If anyone had worked at an overwhelming pace to put out fires, rescue citizens and rehome people, it was Erend. She had done her best to help, but so many people needed attention.

'Glad to hear it,' she smiled, but with sadness. 'You're a hero, Erend.'

He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck, then looked at the sunset again.

'Nah, just doing my job,' he explained. 'Plus, if anyone is a hero it's you. You literally stabbed a demon with a spear and saved the world.'

Aloy sighed. 'I wasn't alone, ' she spoke, staring at the smoke. 'And it cost so much.'

He leaned forward again and she noticed the blue in the grey of his eyes. Dark circles, but so sincere.

'It was worth it. It has to be. Nothing we can't clean up in the next few weeks and months, right?'

Weeks and months? She would be leaving in a day or so. How could she tell him? But she had to know about Elisabet. 

Suddenly nervous, Aloy turned to the sun again. It was nearly two thirds down the horizon now, shadows cast long and waning quickly.

'Erend, I-'

He sighed deeply, more tired looking all of a sudden, and stepped closer to her. 

'You're leaving, aren't you?' He asked her. It was quiet but blunt and full of an emotion she could not place. Damn the Nora for keeping her locked away for so long. 

'I have to go. There is something I have to do. Something I have been waiting to do for a long, long time.'

There. That was the honest truth, right?

His eyes were full of sadness. 'Any chance you could tell me what that is?' He asked sincerely, hand nearly touching hers. She could feel the heat from it. It made her nervous.

She remained silent for a moment. No, he would try and follow. He was needed here.

'It's complicated,' Aloy whispered. 'But I promise it's good.'

A small smile lit up his face. 'I hope so. You deserve it.'

They were quiet for a few seconds. The moon was a faint watermark in the sky now, against a blue orange. 

'As long as you are doing something you have wanted to do for a long time, mind if I do as well?' He whispered. Aloy turned and he was so close she could smell the smoke and dirt and sweat on his clothes. She looked up wordlessly, completely unsure of what to do, but nodded anyways. 

As lightly as a feather, he reached out and touched her bare arm, leaving his hand there. She kept eye contact with him and he seemed to be shaking slightly. Then, with a deep breath, he stilled. There was a new strength in him. A confidence.

'Aloy, I need you to know something. And I absoloutely do not expect an answer, or anything from you. But I can't let you leave without you knowing,' Erend said to her, his thumb rubbing her skin. 

Aloy was the one shaking now. She was less nervous facing Hades than she was right now. 

'I, uh, I love you.' He stuttered. Erend shook his head and took a deep breath, then continued before she could process what he said. 'I love how you smile, how you laugh, and how focused your eyes are when you shoot down a machine. I love your beautiful heart. I love how you bite your lip when you are thinking really hard or how you devour food without even chewing.'

She was flabbergasted. He loved her? And damn him, she did chew her food. Most of the time, unless she was very hungry. Which was, admittedly, often.

'Erend,' she started, but he shook his head. 

'You're the most amazing person I have ever met, and not because you are a goddess, but because of you as a person, Aloy. And I love that person.'

She was frozen. It was like her brain had been engulfed with chillwater. 

'W-Why?' She asked him, stuttering. 'Why now?'

He smiled wryly again. The now full moon lit up his eyes. 'Because, I know how alone you feel. I know you lost the only family you ever had. And when you are out there, cold and alone, or hurting, or sad and tired, I want you to know that there's someone out there who is thinking of you. And wants you safe, and whole, and happy. Someone who loves you.'

Loved her. Loved her. 

She repeated the words in her head. Nobody had ever loved her, not like that. Rost loved her like a father, but the matriarchs tasked him to care for her; that was always something she thought about. 

But Erend? Nobody had told him to love her, but he did anyways. The shock outweighed everything else. Normally wasn't the other person supposed to say it back? 

But she couldn't. She was just too overhwelmed. She was just getting used to having friends, even talking to people, and the weight of the battle and the revelations leading up to it had been so crushing. Aloy looked at Erend's handsome face and saw honesty, kindness and bravery. And, that emotion she couldnt identify before; it was love. So much caring that it drowned her when she had been parched her whole life. 

'Thank you,' she managed to croak. She felt tears on her cheek, her vision blurry. 'I don't think I'm ready to tell you. That. But you make me happy. Is that enough?'

He looked just a little bit sad, but grinned and wiped his own tear away. Had she made him sad? 

'It's better than enough,' he told her. 'That's all the answer I need. Can...can I hug you?' 

Aloy bit her lip, but nodded. She needed to get that smile to reach his eyes. 

Gently, he pulled her into his arms into a hug. At first she was tense, then relaxed into it. Breathed in his scent. The smell of his heart. Something in hers beat faster, and then a wave of calm washed over her. She reached her arms around him and hugged him back, and felt more at home and relaxed than she had felt since leaving her cabin for the Proving. 

She could love him, she realized. Not now, not yet, but when she'd had a chance to process everything, maybe. 

'Cap, we need-oh, sorry." A gruff voice interrupted. 

Erend held on to her for a split second longer and let her go gently, looking into her eyes with love again. She smiled while he turned to his colleague. 

'It's ok ,Tano. What do you need?'

The younger man looked from Aloy to his captain, and swallowed nervously. 

'Judar wants to know where to station us next. There are some people helping rebuild the bridge to the quarry, thinking we could go there,' Tano spoke. 

Erend sighed, then looked at Aloy. She gave him a small smile, her affection growing, and he returned it. It was like they were alone again, with his warmness. His love.

His colleague coughed, and with his smile fading he turned to him. 

'Ok, be right there. Gotta assess what else needs to be done first, then maybe the bridge. We might need to talk to Avad,' he told Tano. 

Aloy turned as well, suddenly reluctant to leave Erend's presence. 

'I can come help too, if you want,' she asked, and it was worth seeing him smile again. 

Erend shook his head. 'No, get some rest. You haven't slept in days. You need it.'

She was about to tell him the same thing when he moved closer and whispered to her. 

'Come see me before you leave, ok?' he spoke. 'Promise?'

Almost not touching her, his hand subtly grazed her fingers. She nodded. Then, he turned and walked to Tano, sparing once last glance her before she heard Tano ask him a question, and Erend faintly telling him to mind his own business. 

When they were out of sight, Aloy looked up at the moon and couldn't hide her smile. She was loved. She hadn't realized how happy that had made her until right now, and she laughed and spun in a circle like a child. 

No matter what happened, she felt less alone. And that was worth everything she had gone through. She would returning to him after she found Elisabet, she thought, almost skipping down the street towards Olin's place. And when she did, maybe she could say those words back. 

For now though, she was finally loved by someone. And that made all the different in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Might write a few more chapters of this. I am obsessed with this ship and this game, and really hope they get Erend and Aloy together! I feel like even knowing that someone cares about her would make such a big difference when alone in the world, especially after being an outcast. Stay safe friends!


End file.
